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Hubby bought this from a charity shop the other day and it wasn't until he got home that he discovered, underneath the significant base wear, that it was signed Tapio Wirkkala - it can only just be made out through all the base scratches, it's very hard to see but is there.

Sorry to drag this thread back up from 2008 but I found it whilst reseaching this vase.It's 20 cm tall. The signature reads Tapio Wirkkala- 3581. I guess as it is a production piece it is the factory, Iittala, just inscribing the name of the designer and pattern number on the base and isn't Tapio's own signature. The reason I ask this is that there is one listed on ebay at a large price, at the moment, and I cant understand why if they were in production for 10 years ! Cheers Mike.

Ah, but will it sell at that price? Selling rather than asking prices may be of more interest.

That seller has a lot of glass, some of it at quite high prices. I have also seen them offer large discounts - I think another GMB member bought a vase from them that was reduced in price and they are very happy with it.

I think my example may well be a second. The thickness of the glass around the rim varies from 7mm to 4mm . The signature seems to have been written over the scratching and ware to the base , but this is a difficult one to detect. So I do now think that this signature is false.

I thought I would add this set of photos ....might help others who collect this design.

The first clearly shows the variation in the thickness of the rim. I'm pretty sure this piece would be classed as a second. The other photos are close up shots of the signature and I think they show that it has been inscribed over the ware and scratching to the base. At first sight , however, it looks the other way around as if the scratching is over the signature.